Doctors doing good.... and stuff...

The greater Boston Area is one of the most well known doctor teaching areas in the country. Further Massachusetts General is one of the most well known research hospitals in the world. Recently however the medical staff of Boston Medical Center, have gotten press coverage for taking on an entirely new challenge, immigration. The staff of BMC recently organized a protest when the first lady came to visit, their protest even included a bit of white coat pageantry, with the doctors scrawling pro immigration phrases like "More hospitals, less cages" on their coats. The protest is related to a program with much more impact than another protest. One of the leaders of the protest, Doctor Sarah Kimball is also the director of the  Immigrant and Refugee Health Program at BMC. A program that treats immigrants and refugees regardless of legal or insurance status. The article further highlights how the program is a part of a greater effort in New England, in fact the Massachusetts Medical Society, officially adopted a resolution focusing on giving "better access" to immigrants. With another doctor saying "I think so many people are seeing how the anti-immigrant rhetoric is affecting their patients and want to learn more about what they can do, so we have just been seeing this almost grassroots movement within the physician community," Showing that perhaps there are further alliances to be made between the healthcare community and immigrant advocacy groups. A pivotal partnership that could help alleviate many of the health issues facing immigrant groups.

The Supreme court may make immigration advocacy.... illegal

The first amendment is one of the most known and honored aspects of American culture. It is the very reason that our current president is allowed to demean, insult and bully marginalized populations on his twitter feed or at his rallies. Unfortunately the same protections do not seem to apply to former immigration consultant Evelyn Sineneng-Smith. Smith was convicted of fraud and convicted under the little known "encouragement provision" of US immigration law, which punishes "encouraging or inducing an alien to … reside in the United States” when the citizen knows the alien does not have legal status. A scary prospect for many citizens who stand with their immigrant friends, neighbors, and family. Fortunately while The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals quickly rejected Smith’s appeal of the fraud conviction the court also "reversed her encouragement convictions, finding that the government’s interpretation of the statute criminalizes a large amount of constitutionally protected speech." Setting up a showdown in the highest court in our nation. The result of which will have massive reverberating effects within the United States, potentially forcing the pro immigration movement underground. 

Article to be found here

"The Problem Is Not Too Many, but Too Few"

In the influential publication Foreign Affairs, author Charles Kenny considers a question we have discussed in class. What happens if a country does halt or seriously slow immigration? While Politicians around the world rant about their countries being "full," Kenny cites statistics that show the danger in not having enough immigrants. Currently in North America and Europe, women are having children at a rate that does not support population growth through natural increase. Thus, these countries will have to bring in immigrants in order to stabilize the economy, and fill much needed vacancies in the job market. "Ten European countries, along with Japan, are forecast to see their populations fall by 15 percent or more by 2050. Over the next 65 years, the working-age population of the European Union as a whole is expected to fall by 44.5 million people." Highlighting the need to bring in young immigrant families now, as well as in the future because by the next generation of retirees, a jobs crisis could take hold. Further,  Kenny also laments that "Robots and artificial intelligence will not save rich countries from the economic consequences of a shrinking population." Which combats the idea, that the future economy will be able to run without actual workers. An idea that many Silicon Valley Start ups would take issue with. However, the real impact of this article is showing that many International Relations, economic, and sociological experts are expressing worry of the current world wide anti immigrant trend.

Article here

“Those kids had no business leaving home in the first place.” An upbeat follow up to an earlier blog

Earlier in the semester, my blog discussed a September 22nd article in the Washington Post that covered how a small town in Minnesota had become a focal point in the heated ideological battle over immigration. The article detailed how the schools in Worthington Minnesota had become terribly overcrowded due to an influx of  young immigrants who crossed the border as unaccompanied minors. The original article detailed how the controversy over the kids mere presence, was contentious. Yet the real issue in Worthington was the 5 separate attempts to pass bond measures that would increase school funding, and alleviate some of the space, and student to teacher ration problems. In a recent update, the Washington Post covered how the latest bond measure fared. After 5 previously unsuccessful attempts, it could be understood if the progressives of Worthington were skeptical about their chances. This time however, the town of Worthington passed the entire bond measure package, "52 percent supported building a new school for third- through fifth-graders for $27 million, a second question over an additional $7 million won approval by 19 votes out of more than 3,400 ballots cast." While the margin of victory is as slim as they get, this update is a bit of good news on a topic that we rarely see progressive good news in, so I had to share it.

A recent Study proves what most Americans already know

A recent New York times article highlights a trend in American society, that I dare say is common knowledge. "New research linking millions of fathers and sons dating to the 1880s shows that children of poor immigrants in America have had greater success climbing the economic ladder than children of similarly poor fathers born in the United States." Meaning that all of the stories of strict immigrant parents pushing their children to excel is a matter of record now. It highlights something we have discussed in class on numerous occasions, the fact that often the parents are not immigrating for themselves but for the next generation. The study actually drew a very relevant comparison to our class discussions. The researchers looked at the economic data tied to children of  poor Irish and Scottish immigrants from one hundred years ago, and compared it with economic data tied to children of poor Mexican and Dominican immigrants. What they found was that both groups of first generation Americans found relative economic success when compared with poor native Americans. Showing that while there are many "partial truths" in American immigration history, some trends are undeniable.

The education of Spock/ The Final Wexler Oral History

Leonard Nimoy was one of the most famous people to walk the earth during the height of his career. He gained fame for playing the pointy eared Spock on the original iteration of the beloved show Star Trek. Nimoy was hailed as an American treasure, however Nimoy's origins are everything and anything but American. In his interview with the Wexler Oral History Project, Nimoy transitions between English and Yiddish seamlessly, a highlight was him reciting a quote from Hamlet, in Yiddish. This is because Nimoy was a first generation American, his parents were Jewish immigrants from Western Ukraine. Nimoy's parents had a rather intense immigration story, even for Jews escaping the "Pale of Settlement" a largely Jewish region in Russia/Ukraine. His father walked from Western Ukraine to the Polish border, while his mother and grandmother hid in the back of a merchants wagon underneath hay, all the way to the Polish Border . For all their efforts, they eventually made it to America and settled in Boston.

Leonard Nimoy was born in America, and his early life is a reflection of what we have read about urban Immigrant life during the 30's and 40's. He details how the floors of his childhood apartment building in the West End of Boston, were segregated between Jews and Italian immigrant families. "You could tell who was where from the smells that came through each door." He talks about how his childhood group of friends was had a unique and diverse ethnic background. Yiddish speaking Jews hailing from Ukrainian & Russia, both Northern and Southern Italians, all in one neighborhood. "The Italians spoke Yiddish, the Jews spoke Italian." In many ways, he speaks of a first hand experience of the "Gumbo" of America, a concept that I find to be more appropriate than the "melting pot." The Gumbo analogy fits because these unique groups retained their unique cultures or flavors, while these flavors all combined to create a fantastically diverse neighborhood.  Given that experience, it is perhaps apt that his defining role as Spock came in such a diverse show. Star Trek was a show that advocated for pluralism by featuring a literally multi racial crew from blacks, to Scots, to Russians, to yes, "Vulcans." Nimoy further remarked on how his life prepared him for a connection to the character, because "Spock is an alien wherever he is...and I knew what it meant to be a minority, in some cases an outcast minority." A point that many viewers could identify with, which is likely responsible for the characters enduring popularity.

Here is the video itself

A step before immigration, the DP Camps in post WW2 Europe/ Wexler Oral History Project Part 2.

Following the ghastly, appalling, and heinous events of the Holocaust, European Jews were not immediately given their freedom.  Instead, most were placed in Displaced Persons camps, set up by the Allies after the end of the war. The camps were not unlike the migrant camps of the modern world, and were initially likened to the concentration camps. This was rather factual, as many of the DP camps as they came to be known, were actually reused concentration camps. A cruel twist of fate that left survivors of the Holocaust still living behind barbed wire fences for many more years. Life in the early camps was hard, yet after what they endured, a sense of hope emerged. This quote found on the website of Yad Vashem (the premier Holocaust remembrance museum/ organization in the world.)

"The desire for life overcame everything - in spite of everything I am alive, and even living with intensity."-Survivor Eliezer Adler

Further, the Wexler Oral History Project interviewed Leo Weitzman about growing up in the DP camps. Weitzman who was featured in the previous blog. Gives a testimonial to the level of joy in being alive. He details how being one of the few children, he was constantly fawned over, given candy and how he could do no wrong. This was due to the fact that many adults had lost their own children, as those who could not provide hard labor were sent straight to death during the Holocaust. In truth, the camps were a rehabilitation center, of the communal variety. As Weitzman describes that life in the camps oddly resembled a adhoc "shtetl" or Jewish Village prior to the events of WW2 and the Holocaust.

In both articles, the core theme, is that while life in these refugee camps was hard. They also served as a way for Jews to be together again, experience joy again. To reclaim some of the humanity that had been stripped from them. Which is an immensely powerful thing.